“In Amsterdam and The Hague, I saw a completely different Netherlands. Rotterdam was truly something special,” says Hip from Vietnam. She moved to Rotterdam in 2022 with her son and Dutch partner. “I’d never lived in another country, not even in Asia. So it was an adventure for me.” Her partner did; for him, Rotterdam is the city of his youth. And therefore the perfect place to start over. “We have a base here, and it feels good to be here together.”
Hip met her husband in Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, a large city in southern Vietnam. “He worked there for an architecture firm.” They dated and moved in together.
Melting Pot
Hip first came to the Netherlands in 2019 for vacation. She visited several cities, but Rotterdam was different for her. “I saw so many different people, different buildings. It was a mix of cultures that I haven’t seen anywhere else,” she says enthusiastically. In Saigon, Hip did see a lot of Westerners. “But there, the culture is so strong that Westerners can’t really change the vibe of the city. Here in Rotterdam, it’s different. The city is truly a melting pot of everything and shaped by all those different people who bring their own culture with them.”
Someone else’s world
Her partner told her the story of Rotterdam: how the city developed and what makes it unique. Rotterdam gave Hip the opportunity to discover his world. “It’s interesting to see someone you know in your country and then live with that same person in his own country, with their own culture.”
Rotterdam vs. Saigon
Hip also sees similarities between Rotterdam and Saigon. “In Saigon, we have a river that supports the city, and here in Rotterdam, the same thing happens. This immediately gave me a sense of recognition,” she explains. “Rotterdam feels like a different version of Saigon to me, but twenty years ago.” That’s why the atmosphere in Rotterdam feels both familiar and innovative to Hip.
Feeling at home
Despite her positive experiences, Hip does not yet feel completely at home in the Netherlands. “It’s difficult to really feel at home when you miss so much of your own culture. The people, the air, the climate… It’s all different,“ she says. Still, she finds herself increasingly accepting what the Netherlands has to offer, especially the rainy weather. ”I used to dislike rain, but now I think, ‘Oh well, it’s just rain,’” she says with a smile.
The fact that her son, Sander, is happy in the Netherlands is a great comfort to Hip. “He now speaks Dutch fluently and is happier here than in Vietnam. That makes me very happy,” she says.
She also notices that she is getting used to the Dutch way of planning. “In Vietnam, we don’t plan that far ahead. You ask someone in the morning if they want to go for coffee, and the answer is usually yes or no, without having to plan months in advance. But here in the Netherlands, you really have to plan ahead, and I’m used to that now,” she says with a laugh.
Vietnamese customs
Although Hip is slowly adapting to life in the Netherlands, she still retains many of her Vietnamese customs. For example, she regularly cooks Vietnamese dishes. “In Vietnam, we eat a lot of rice, and I miss that here. But fortunately, there is a lot of delicious food from other cultures, such as Indonesian, Indian, and Turkish. I think that’s great.”
All these other cultures mean that as a newcomer, you are not alone in Rotterdam. That is what Hip wants to convey to others who feel new in Rotterdam: “Realize that you are not alone. There are so many people going through the same thing as you. Rotterdam is a city full of opportunities, and it’s up to you to seize those opportunities. Don’t be discouraged, because you’re not alone. If you’re motivated, you can really achieve anything here. It’s a city that has so much to offer.”